View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Publications of the IAS Fellows Genome-wide identification, classification, evolutionary expansion and expression analyses of homeobox genes in rice Mukesh Jain, Akhilesh K. Tyagi and Jitendra P. Khurana Interdisciplinary Centre for Plant Genomics and Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Delhi South Campus, India Keywords Homeobox genes play a critical role in regulating various aspects of plant abiotic stress; homeobox genes; microarray growth and development. In the present study, we identified a total of 107 analysis; reproductive development; rice homeobox genes in the rice genome and grouped them into ten distinct (Oryza sativa) subfamilies based upon their domain composition and phylogenetic analy- Correspondence sis. A significantly large number of homeobox genes are located in the J. P. Khurana, Department of Plant duplicated segments of the rice genome, which suggests that the expansion Molecular Biology, University of Delhi South of homeobox gene family, in large part, might have occurred due to Campus, Benito Juarez Road, New Delhi segmental duplications in rice. Furthermore, microarray analysis was 110021, India performed to elucidate the expression profiles of these genes in different Fax: +91 011 24115270 tissues and during various stages of vegetative and reproductive develop- Tel: +91 011 24115126 ment. Several genes with predominant expression during various stages of E-mail:
[email protected] panicle and seed development were identified. At least 37 homeobox genes (Received 6 November 2007, revised 3 were found to be differentially expressed significantly (more than two-fold; March 2008, accepted 31 March 2008) P < 0.05) under various abiotic stress conditions.